Engine with rotor, of new type

Abstract

The present invention relates to rotary engines of the type comprising a casing, assembled with two transverse end-plates and constituting a stator equipped with fluid-admission and exhaust tubes; a rotor associated with means for displacing said rotor in the stator so as to form working chambers with this latter; and rectilinear segments freely mounted in rectilinear grooves provided respectively along generator lines of said casing, corresponding to the separation edges of the working chambers on the internal surfaces of each end-plate, following at least three directions and forming a polygon surrounding the rotor-displacement means by virtue of a crossed arrangement, by overlapping of segments in pairs, especially along the radial directions corresponding to said casing segments and extending at least up to a segment of said polygon, each of these segments co-operating with other segments by slots or notches forming expansion clearances. The invention provides greatly improved fluid-tightness between the moving parts of the rotor in the stator by means of a reticular structure of rectilinear segments, and the structure is practically immune to the effects of very large variations of gas pressure which may arise during the operating cycle of the engine.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. In a rotary engine having at least one rotor: a stator for the rotor, said stator including a pair of end plates, a casing at least partially surrounding said rotor and joining said end plates at each end, and fluid admission and exhaust tubes;   rotatable means journaled in said end plates for displacing the rotor to form working chambers in the stator; and   a network of rectilinear grooves formed on the internal surfaces of said casing and said end plates and rectilinear segments mounted in each of said grooves sized smaller than the grooves for both lateral and longitudinal movement therein, said network including: a. groups of at least two grooves and segments each across said casing radially arranged with respect to said rotatable means;   b. groups of at least two grooves and segments each polygonally arranged around said rotatable means in said end plates and   c. groups of at least two grooves and segments each interconnecting said radially and polygonally arranged groups of grooves and segments;     each of said segments cooperating with at least one other segment through interacting cut-away portions of the segments, said cut-away portions permitting both lateral and longitudinal movement of the segments.   
     
     
       2. In a rotary engine, a network of grooves and segments as in claim 1 wherein a plurality of segments associated with each other in end-to-end relationship with half-lap joints is contained in a single groove, said half-lap joints permitting longitudinal movement among the plurality of segments. 
     
     
       3. In a rotary engine, a newtwork of grooves and segments as in claim 1 wherein said segments are resiliently biased against the rotor. 
     
     
       4. In a rotary engine, a network of grooves and segments as in claim 1 also including apertures in the bottoms of at least one of said grooves for access to lubrication, and wherein said lateral and longitudinal movements of said network act as a pump for said lubrication. 
     
     
       5. In a rotary engine as in claim 1, a plurality of said rotors and stators in end-to-end relationship with respect to said rotatable means and having one of said end plates in common between adjoining rotors and wherein said polygonally arranged groups of grooves and segments are utilized on opposite sides of said common end plates, said polygonally arranged groups on opposite sides of an end plate being identical in pattern but shifted 180° with respect to each other. 
     
     
       6. In a rotary engine, a network of grooves and segments as in claim 1 wherein said interconnecting segments cooperate with said polygonally arranged segments intermediate the ends of the polygonally arranged segments. 
     
     
       7. In a rotary engine, a newtwork of grooves and segments as in claim 6 wherein said interconnecting segments cooperate with said polygonally arranged segments substantially at the center of the polygonally arranged segments. 
     
     
       8. In a rotary engine, a network of grooves and segments as in claim 1, wherein each of said groups includes parallel pairs of grooves and segments. 
     
     
       9. In a rotary engine, a network of grooves and segments as in claim 8 in which the ends of the parallel pairs of said polygonally arranged groups and interconnecting groups extend beyond intersected grooves and segments. 
     
     
       10. In a rotary engine, a network of grooves and segments as in claim 8 wherein at the interconnections of said parallel pairs of grooves and segments the cut-away portions of said pairs are formed by interacting transverse slots in the segments, and wherein at the intersections of said parallel pairs of grooves and segments the two slots provided in one segment for the intersecting pair of segments are on opposite sides of the one segment.